Now comes the big moment.
The big unknown moment. The unsteady, the unsure, the insecure
moment. This is the moment to get others involved in our creative
work. Strangers. It's time to submit.
For most writers of
fiction and most poets there is only one type of submission: the
unsolicited manuscript. Fortunately, most literary magazines only
accept one kind of manuscript, the unsolicited. With the unsolicited
manuscript comes a great deal of the unknown. With the great deal of
the unknown comes the inevitable and the relentless line of
rejections.
So. Why bother? If you're
a writer, you want readers. You want publication. You want
recognition. You want success. You want to be the next big name. If
you're lucky, you may even get paid. So, all those negative thoughts,
all that uncertainty, you must shelf it and submit your work.
If you have written a
great short story and you have properly formatted it, now comes the
real work. Here are the steps:
- Market research
- Following the submission guidelines
- The cover letter
- Your third person bio
Market research. Start
reading magazines. Start subscribing to magazines. Start today. Here
are a few resources to get you started:
I use New Pages almost
daily. I have an affection for them because they have always been
good to Umbrella Factory Magazine.
And I met them at the AWP conference a few years back and I thought
they were very cool people. New Pages has a great filtering feature
on their “Big List of Lit Magazines” which is helpful. New Pages
is free to use. Every Writer's Resource, also free, has a slightly
different angle than New Pages. Every Writer's Resource has articles,
reviews and interviews which I find interesting and helpful in my
development. And Duotrope? This is a wonderful service. They have an
extensive list of magazines and publishers complete with profiles and
information. Unlike the others, Duotrope charges a very nominal
membership fee. For your money, they offer a “submission tracker”
feature which can be very useful.
No
matter how you get your information, you must read these magazines.
When I look at a magazine, I have a specific list: I look at the
general design, I read the “About” or mission statement, I look
at the “Submissions” page and then I'll read a few stories. If I
feel like I have a piece of work that they may like, I'll submit, if
not, I'll move on.
At
this point, if you do not have a Submittable account, sign up for
one: www.submittable.com.
When
it comes time to submit, you have only one real confidence. You have
confidence in your manuscript. If you are not 100% with your
manuscript, stop what you're doing and go back and rewrite. If you
are ready, submit.
Your
submission will have three parts: the cover letter, the manuscript
and a third person bio. I covered all of these in my “Pursuit of
Publication” series in November and December 2011. A short rehash:
keep your cover letter very brief, kind and professional. A sentence
of introduction, where you found the magazine, first. Second
sentence: a hook and synopsis of your story, also let them know your
piece is previously unpublished, if it's submitted elsewhere and the
word count. Last sentence: a thank you. If there are other
requirements in the submission guidelines, this is where to include
it.
Next,
make sure your manuscript fits the guidelines. If they want your
manuscript in Sans Serif font, please change your Times New Roman to
their desired font. Make sure you have done everything the guidelines
have asked, including the preferred method of sending the manuscript.
Last,
the third person bio. Believe it or not, I have declined a story
because I didn't want to deal with the writer because of the bio. The
bio is your way of letting readers, editors and other writers get to
know you. You can be professional, personal, funny, but please be
succinct. My bio is exactly 50 words. I list three publications, one
professional position and my contact:
Anthony ILacqua's third novel Warehouses and Rusted Angels is forthcoming. His novels, Dysphoric Notions (2012) and Undertakers of Rain (2013) are both published through Ring of Fire Publishing. He currently functions as editor in chief for Umbrella Factory Magazine that he co-founded in 2009. Meet Anthony at his blog: anthonyilacqua.blogspot.com
If
you have a Submittable account, Submittable will keep your
information and populate the fields with your information when you
submit to a magazine who uses the service. I have a great deal of
love for Submittable and you will too. It takes the guess work out of
everything.
Once
you have your submission ready (the cover letter, the bio and the
manuscript) submit. Submit and wait.
Next
time: The Reject/Accept
No comments:
Post a Comment